Late last year, Coach Danny Todd’s home-schooled son shared that he missed playing the sport of football and was thinking of possibly going back to a public or private school so that he could have that opportunity. From that day forward, Todd made it his mission to organize a team for local home-schooled young men who, like his son, didn’t have the chance to play the sport that he so loved. Eight months after the initial sign up, the Meridian Flyers have a record of 3-2 in their inaugural season and have surpassed all expectations set by the coaching staff.
The football team, made up of 15 young men from Newton County and other surrounding counties, play eight-man football in the Mid-South Christian Atlantic Conference, and they’re governed by the Mid-South Association of Independent Schools (MAIS) rules and officials. On Friday, the Flyers notched their third win season against the Magnolia Mustangs by a score of 50-48. Not bad for a team that was put together just months earlier by a father looking provide an opportunity for his son.
“I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t even know about the conference at the time,” Todd said about organizing the team. “All I knew is I had a love for the sport, and I wanted to share that with my son.”
Dedicated to God
After the initial sign-up meeting for players back in January, it was time to line up a coaching staff. Todd, who is the pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Newton, said that one thing he wanted to do in building a staff is integrate his faith with his coaching philosophy. Six members of his staff are lead pastors, associate pastors, or youth pastors.
“To us, the main thing is to build kingdom-minded men. They can grow into what God has called them to be and be Christ-centered in their life,” he said. “And the second alternative to us is teaching them the game of football. But above everything else, we dedicated our whole team and cheerleading squad to God.”
Not having the luxury of owning their own facilities, the Flyers football team first challenge was finding a suitable playing field for their games. Thanks to a partnership with East Central Community College, Flyers home games are played at Warrior Field/Bailey Stadium.
“They’ve been amazing,” Todd said of ECCC.
Another challenge is preparing for their weekly opponents. The Flyers only practice twice a week. On Tuesday, the team practices for two hours at the Chunky ballfield, and on Thursday’s practices take place at the ECCC practice field.
“It really puts a lot on their shoulders to make sure they’re doing their homework at home and doing what they’re supposed to stay in physical shape,” said Todd. “But I am proud of my entire coaching staff. They've really stepped up to the plate and we've done the best with what we have to work with.”
Despite the challenges, the Flyers showed they were ready to compete in their first two games of the season by defeating defending conference champion Magnolia Wildcats by a score of 36-8, and besting established private school, Hebron Christian, by a score of 30-20.
According to Todd, the team’s expectations have grown from being a group of kids who looked to compete and just be happy to play the game they loved to watch, to winning a conference championship.
“Being that we’re a first-year team, there’s lots of obstacles and adversity that comes along with that,” Todd said. “I really think now they have a mindset that if they apply themselves, they could actually compete for a conference title in our first year.”
David versus Goliath
With six more games to go in their inaugural season, Todd said that he feels the Flyers have a winning season, and more, well within their sights.
“I know if they bring to the table what we’ve instilled in their hearts and minds, and they go out and play Flyers football, I really feel like we’ll be very competitive,” he said. “There are some really good established teams in this conference. But like the David versus Goliath story, everybody counted us out. Those boys have already far exceeded the expectations that anybody had for them just by winning the first two games of the year. I told them if we lost the rest of the game, I’d still be proud of them. They already overcame adversity. Our mindset is taking it one week at a time.”
The Flyers next home game is scheduled for Oct. 11 at Warrior Field. Todd said he would love to see folks, especially the homeschool community, come out and support the Flyers as they take on the FEALC Warriors.
“We just want to get the word out, because a lot of people, especially the homeschool community, may not know that they have a team, in this area,” he said. “To me, the fans can change the outcome of the game, and if the homeschool kids and families would get behind the Meridian Flyers as a whole and support their sports, that’s something they can be proud of and attach themselves to, similar to the spirit that kids at public and private school get from being attached to the program.”
